For Fans of Suspense, Historical Fiction, and True Crimes
This is the fourth installment in the True Color series which takes strange historical crimes and turns them into suspense-filled fiction stories. Grace Hitchcock’s The Gray Chamber focuses on a dark period in the late 1800’s surrounding the poorly run women’s lunatic asylum called Blackwell Island.
Edyth Foster’s life is about to take off. She’s set to take over her parent’s estate after their death, and she finds the love of her life. But her uncle get her falsely committed to the asylum where Edyth withstands the horrible conditions. She meets Nelly Bly, an undercover reporter, and the two try to stay alive in the asylum.
The Gray Chamber puts readers right into the middle of these historical events. I hadn’t actually heard about Nelly Bly until reading The Gray Chamber, and the story surrounding Blackwell Island is creepy in its own right. But the author adds the lovable and quirky Edyth to the plot and readers endure the heartbreaking conditions of the asylum right along side her. Edyth’s spunk challenges the societal norms of the time period with her dress and actions. She even takes up fencing, which wasn’t a thing women did in the 1800’s. Edyth isn’t the damsel in distress, which made her plight all the more harrowing as she fights for her life from inside the asylum.
The Gray Chamber is intriguing and full of suspenseful twists. Sadly, much of the elements in the story happened. If you love true crimes, this is one novel you don’t want to miss. The fast-paced action plus likable characters makes this a must read.
I received a complementary ebook review copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.